Another dismal day for Bears as they fall to Lions for 9th loss in a row
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) — It was another day of disappointment for the Chicago Bears on Sunday despite an impressive performance by Caleb Williams.
The Bears lost 34-17 to the Detroit Lions.
Caleb Williams threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns following a string of shaky performances for the Bears.
Keenan Allen caught nine passes for a season-high 141 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown near the end of the first half. Rome Odunze added 77 yards receiving.
But the Bears lost their ninth in a row and drew more boos from their frustrated fans.
"Just not doing the simple stuff right, I mean, just miscommunications; not making enough plays at the end of the day," said Bears safety Kevin Byard. "They're a good offense, but a lot of stuff that we gave to them today, and we haven't been good these last few weeks."
Williams' fourth 300-yard passing game of the season was not enough to overcome another slow start by the offense and another lackluster performance by the defense.
"I think we've got to do better with execution. Obviously, the penalties—they shoot you in the foot, and it's tough," said Williams. "There's been growth, but today, I will say that, you know, it wasn't us growing in that sense. We did a lot of things good, but we also did a lot of things bad, to put our defense in bad situations."
Williams and especially Allen connecting all game was something positive the Bears could take out of this game.
"I mean, you have moral wins, moral victories," Allen said. "It's good to score, obviously, being able to be productive, our offense getting better, Caleb being able to get more reps, seeing different things on defense, trying to score points—we scored today in the first half. It's been a minute since we did that."
But tight end Cole Kmet, who caught his first touchdown since Week 6, is over moral victories.
"I'm kind of done doing that, You know, I've been through this now. Two years ago, it felt like, you know, you're trying to find positives in things. And you know, it's hard for me to like be real with myself and find positives when you lose 34-17."
For the Lions, Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and Jameson Williams had a career-high 143 yards receiving on five catches—including an 82-yard touchdown in the second quarter—and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 109 yards and a score
Detroit (13-2) broke a tie with the 1991 and 2023 teams for the most wins in franchise history. The Lions also set a single-season record for scoring with 493 points.
The Lions took control early against the Bears (4-11). They outscored the Bears 13-0 in the first quarter and struck again early in the second.
The Lions even flexed their dominance by executing a trick play in which Goff intentionally stumbled while dropping back. With Detroit players yelling "Fumble!" and Gibbs pretending to dive for the ball, Goff threw to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 34-14.
This play was probably the lowlight of the game for the Bears.
Ultimately, the Bears lost to Detroit for the fifth time in six games. Unlike the matchup on Thanksgiving Day — when then-coach Matt Eberflus mismanaged the ending and got fired the next day — they never really challenged in this one.
If one wants to be really glass-half-full about the Bears-Lions game Sunday, it was a fantastic audition for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be the Bears next head coach—and a good showing by Caleb Williams possibly to entice Johnson to want the job.
But the Bears' nine-game losing streak is the second-longest in franchise history—trailing only a 10-game losing streak from 2 seasons ago. In just four days, they could tie that record as they host the Seattle Seahawks Thursday night.
Injuries
Bears: LT Braxton Jones (ankle) exited early in the second quarter after he was hurt blocking on a pass. The Chicago sideline emptied, with players forming a semicircle as medical personnel tended to Jones before he was carted off the field.
Up next
Lions: Visit San Francisco next Monday night in a rematch of last year's NFC championship game.
Bears: Host Seattle on Thursday night.